


Not From Here

by infinite_summer



Category: Shazam! (2019), The Outsiders (1983), The Outsiders - S. E. Hinton
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boys In Love, Comfort, Crossover, Hugs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:20:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23439085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinite_summer/pseuds/infinite_summer
Summary: A superhero mission for Billy and Freddy doesn't go exactly as planned, and an unexpected encounter makes Billy realize what he has with Freddy.
Relationships: Billy Batson/Freddy Freeman, Johnny Cade/Ponyboy Curtis
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	Not From Here

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing fanfic. After re-watching Shazam! at the end of February, I checked out AO3 for any Billy/Freddy fanfics, and I found some great, really solid stories that inspired me to write one myself.

Billy and Freddy hovered over the highway in their hero forms, capes snapping in the wind. The time storm was a tangle of thick black cloud shot through with dark red light, slowly approaching Philadelphia, which lay twenty miles behind the boys.

“Looks like we made it in time,” Freddy said, drawing closer to Billy so they didn’t have to shout. “So what are we supposed to do?”

“Superman said it’s magic in origin, otherwise he’d be here.” Billy would’ve felt more confident if Mary, Pedro, Darla, and Eugene were here as back-up, but all the same he was glad for some Billy-and-Freddy time away from the craziness of home.

“Good excuse!” Freddy said with a laugh.

“He said my lightning should disrupt it and stop it.”

“Should? He’s not sure?”

“He said the Phantom Stranger helped the last time something like this happened. Just to be careful of a ‘slingshot effect?’ What do you think?”

“Dude, you’re way stronger than the Phantom Stranger. And I don’t remember reading anything about a slingshot effect, so it’s probably nothing to worry about.”

“Let’s get to it, then. Back me up!”

“Always!”

They flew closer, the time storm energy manifesting in arcs of red electricity illuminating the black clouds from within.

Confident in his powers, Billy stretched his arms forward, his own electricity flowing easily. 

The storm’s speed and intensity increased.

Freddy drew closer. “Billy?”

Billy took a deep breath. “Working on it.”

He concentrated, focusing inward, and the lightning burst from his core, coursed through him, and blasted from his hands.

The time storm disappeared with a blinding crimson flash.

Freddy looked around when his vision cleared. He was alone in the sky.

“Billy,” he whispered.

* * *

Ponyboy jerked awake. Was that really thunder, or just the dream of his parents’ accident still echoing in his head?

He needed to get home. Darry was gonna kill him. He glanced at Johnny’s sleeping face, close to his. It was nice having Johnny rest his head on his shoulder like that. Pony didn’t want to leave him by himself, but Johnny said he was staying in the lot. Pony knew Johnny wouldn’t come back to the house with him. 

There was another rumble of distant thunder, and dim red lightning flickering in the clouds away east. He hoped Johnny went home, or came over, before it rained.

Ponyboy was almost to the edge of the lot when he saw another kid up ahead. He slowed. The kid, about his same age, wore jeans and a red zip-up jacket. He didn’t look like a Soc . . . but he didn’t look like a grease either.

The kid stopped when he saw Ponyboy. “Hey there,” the kid said, waving. “This is gonna sound weird, but, uh, where are we?”

* * *

After his last lightning blast, Billy was expecting to see Freddy near him, but after the red glare faded, he didn’t even see the Philly skyline.

"Freddy?" he whispered.

Uh-oh.

He was over a city, he could see that, its lights laid out beneath him. Not a big city, and not a big downtown. This was his first experience feeling lost when flying, and it was disorienting and little scary. He needed to ask Superman for some kind of training later. For now, best to get his feet back on the ground.

Below him spread a neighborhood area with a lot of small houses. He landed and powered down, hoping he didn’t wake up too many people if it was late. He had no idea what time it was.

He checked his phone. It was dead. He thumbed the power button but nothing happened. Maybe the time storm shorted it out?

He decided to walk a while to settle his nerves, but he couldn’t relax, and he couldn’t figure out why right away. Then it hit him: parked along the streets and in driveways were nothing but classic cars, and most of them were definitely not in classic car shape. A lot of them looked worn out by everyday use, and some were plain run down.

Where the hell was he?

Just then thunder rumbled somewhere behind him, and an electric tingle ran up his arms. The sensation was a much less powerful version of what he felt when he had blasted the time storm. Just stay alert, he thought to himself, be ready for anything.

Up ahead, an empty lot sat in the middle of more small houses, some in as rough shape as the cars in their yards. At the edge of the lot, a kid was walking in his direction, wearing a dark sweatshirt with cut-off sleeves and . . . greaser hair?

* * *

“Um, this is Tulsa,” the greaser kid said. “Are you okay?”

Tulsa. The name hit Billy like a gut-punch. “I’m not sure,” Billy said. “I was . . . traveling . . . and I think I got lost.”

“You’re not from here?”

“No, I’m from Philadelphia.”

“Wow,” the greaser kid said. “You _are_ lost.” He held out his hand. “My name’s Ponyboy Curtis.”

Ponyboy. That was an interesting name. A cool name. Billy shook his hand. “I’m Billy Batson.”

“So you’re trying to get home?” Ponyboy asked.

“Yeah. I was with my friend, and we got separated.”

Ponyboy caught the worried tone in Billy’s voice. “I’m pretty sure y’all will catch up with each other. If you want, you can come with me to my house and wait. I don’t think my brothers’ll mind.”

“What about your parents?” Billy’s wary old foster kid habits were kicking in.

“It’s just me and my brothers,” Ponyboy said, staying quiet for a minute. Billy waited. This kind of conversation was familiar territory. “We lost our parents a while back.”

Billy sat on the curb. He was tired, but he also needed to sit for this kind of talk. “Me too,” he said, in a small voice.

Ponyboy sat next to him, giving his shoulder a light punch. “My oldest brother Darry takes care of me and my other brother Sodapop.”

Billy looked at him with a crooked smile. “Sodapop?”

Ponyboy returned the smile. “Yeah, I know. My parents liked original names.”

Billy looked away, scanning up and down the street.

“Worried about your friend?” Ponyboy asked.

“Yeah, sorry. I am, actually. I really--he’s a good friend.” 

“Hey, it’s cool.” Ponyboy paused, took a deep breath, glanced around quickly, then continued. “Me too. I’m worried about my friend, too.”

Billy turned his full attention to Ponyboy. It helped him focus. “Is he okay, your friend?”

Ponyboy laughed nervously, then in a quiet voice, almost to himself, “Johnny.” Billy heard the feeling in the way Ponyboy said the name, in the way he seemed to like saying it. “He’s sleeping in the lot back there,” Ponyboy went on. “He doesn’t want to go home. He shouldn’t. I told him to come over, but he doesn’t want to do that either. I don’t know. It’s weird.”

Thunder rumbled faintly, and the electric tingling Billy felt last time returned, stronger now. He stood, holding out his hand to help Ponyboy up. “Let’s go get Johnny,” he said.

A thin dark kid was huddled on an old car seat in a corner of the lot, arms wrapped around himself. Ponyboy knelt next to him and touched him gently on the shoulder. “Johnny, come on, man, let’s go.”

Johnny sat up, and when he saw Billy he flinched toward Ponyboy. “It’s okay, Johnny, he’s a friend,” Ponyboy said. “This is Billy.”

Billy understood Johnny’s reaction. He had seen it over the years. He stayed where he was and simply raised a hand in greeting. “Hey.”

Johnny stood, nodding at Billy. “Hey.” Johnny glanced from him to Ponyboy, where his gaze stayed. Billy saw something change in Johnny’s expression, his face wary at first then softening and warming at the same time. Johnny took a step toward Ponyboy, about to speak, when a yell came from behind them.

“Pony! Hey, Pony!”

Billy turned to see an older boy in jeans and a white T-shirt jogging toward them. His hair was lighter than Ponyboy’s but he wore it greased back too.

“Man, there you are,” the new guy said, gripping Ponyboy’s shoulders. “Let’s get home. Darry was ready to hunt you down, but I told him I knew where you were and I’d go get you.” He laughed. “I’m glad I saw you! I didn’t want to go back empty-handed. C’mon, Johnny, you’re coming, too.”

Ponyboy glanced at Billy and Billy nodded. “Soda, this is Billy. He’s a friend from school.”

“Hey there, Billy,” said Sodapop. “You want to come over, too? This storm sounds pretty bad. We got plenty of room.”

“Thanks, Soda, but I need to find my friend and get back home.”

Ponyboy stepped closer to Billy. “You sure?”

“Yeah.” Billy nodded slightly toward Johnny. “Looks like things might work out.”

Johnny moved closer to them, a little protectively, Billy thought. “Pony?” Johnny said. “You okay?”

Pony smiled at him. “Yeah, everything’s cool.” He turned to Billy. “Good luck.”

“You too, Pony.” They shook hands, Billy watching the other three walk away into the dimness of the street, Johnny sticking close to Ponyboy.

God, he missed Freddy bad.

He turned and started jogging toward the storm. Toward Freddy.

* * *

When he was far enough away from Pony and the guys he powered up and took to the sky, the time storm dead ahead. I’m coming, Freddy, Billy thought, the yearning to see him again like a power boost supercharging his lightning.

He sped with arms extended straight ahead and ending in fists, teeth gritted, imagining himself a gleaming red, white, and gold arrow. His eyes teared up from the wind of his flight, or maybe it was seeing things click with Pony and Johnny and wanting the same thing for him and Freddy, wanting to get home.

He called his lightning with a yell, the electric brilliance driven before him as he tore through the black and crimson in a blinding flash.

* * *

When he could see again the Philly skyline was laid out before him in all its glory, the highway below. So he was in the right place. It was still night, but was he on time? Where was Freddy?

Billy landed and depowered, needing his feet on the ground even more badly now. He was close to a stand of trees where he and Freddy had first reconned the situation. The time storm was gone, the sky clear. He scanned the access road area, everything clear and visible in the street lights, but no sign of Freddy anywhere near.

“Billy.”

He turned and there was Freddy, stepping from the shadows of the trees. Freddy and his curly hair, his face. He jogged to meet him, gripping him by the shoulders. “Hey.”

“Are you okay?” Freddy asked.

Billy tried to speak but his voice caught. He nodded, then pulled Freddy to him, wrapping his arms around him, careful to be gentle with him. Relief washed over him when Freddy hugged him back. Billy leaned back a little so he could see Freddy’s face. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he whispered, and rested his forehead against Freddy’s, eyes closed. More relief when Freddy didn’t pull away. Billy sighed.

“Do we have something we need to talk about?” Freddy asked.

Billy nodded. “Yeah.”

“Good.” Then Freddy grinned. “Race you home!”


End file.
